Porter: Eagles Should Move On From Jason Peters
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's time to get rid of the old Mercedes-Benz.
After all, the 2009 shiny, smooth, and silver C-Class has given us seven amazing years of durability and reliability. But now, the upkeep is expensive and the four-door sedan is starting to wear down.
Your heart says to keep it. Your brain says, it's time to move on.
Jason Peters, now 34-years-old, is that once perfect -- but now deteriorating -- 2009 Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
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In Week 7 of last season, his least consistent season since joining the Eagles in '09, Peters suffered back spasms. Over the latter half of the season, Peters tried to play through the nagging back-injury. On December 27th, Peters reportedly pulled himself out of the Eagles' Week 16 season-ending loss to Washington because he was "not getting hurt for this."
Peters, an eight-time Pro Bowl left-tackle, has a 2016 cap hit of $9.7 million. The Eagles, however, can save $6.7 million on their cap by releasing Peters. And that's exactly what they should do, but that doesn't sound likely.
"I have the utmost confidence in Jason Peters," Pederson said on Wednesday at the NFL combine. "I think he's excited and ready to go come April 4th. I think he has several good years left. I still think you have to be smart with a guy like JP as far as how you handle him during the course of the week to get him to Sunday. But I think he can continue to play at a high level."
According to Reuben Frank of 94WIP and CSNPhilly, the Eagles have about 26 million cap dollars to spend this offseason. Cutting Peters would put that number around $33 million, a significant figure.
"How can the Eagles cut their 'best' offensive lineman, when they're incredibly weak at that position?"
I've heard that argument a million times. Look, Peters was their best offensive lineman, but he's not anymore. He may not play 16 games in a season ever again.
Plus, the Eagles are grooming Lane Johnson -- who they've recently re-signed to a new six-year contract -- to become their left-tackle of the future. The aging, declining, injury-riddled Peters is also stunting Johnson's growth.
The Eagles can simply move Johnson to tackle, draft an offensive lineman or two, and use some of the cap space to add even more blockers.
"We're going to continue to evaluate not only the guys on our roster, but the guys that are [at the combine] this week," Pederson said, in regards to offensive lineman. "Free agency is coming up. So there will be opportunities to improve that talent level."
LT Jermon Bushrod, LT William Beatty, LT Russell Okung, G Jahri Evans, LT, Donald Penn, and RT Andre Smith are all unrestricted free-agent offensive lineman. Many of them are former Pro Bowlers and all of them are younger than Peters.
NFL Hall Of Fame analyst Ray Didinger believes, if QB Carson Wentz and QB Jared Goff are selected before the Eagles' first-round pick at No. 13 -- which is seems probable -- Howie Roseman and company should go with an offensive lineman.
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"Is Ronnie Stanley, the kid from Notre Dame, still there [at No. 13]?" Didinger told the 94WIP Morning Show on Friday. "Is Jack Conklin, the kid from Michigan State, still there? Is Taylor Decker, the kid from Ohio State, there? Those are all really good offensive lineman, they're good solid first-round players."
It's a cliché we hear and see over and over again: The NFL is business.
Sometimes you need to let go of your old, shiny toy. Sometimes, you need to make a foresighted decision. Sometimes you need to pat your silver 2009 Mercedes-Benz C-Class on the hood and say, "Thank you. Thanks for seven amazing years."
